University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Rice Invitational
Dimitrova Wins at Rain-Shortened Rice Invite
9/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
HOUSTON â€" The final day of the 2016 Rice Invitational was cut short due to inclement weather, but not before Tsveta Dimitrova won her third singles match of the weekend to claim her flight championship on Sunday.
ABOUT THE RICE INVITATIONAL
Where: George R. Brown Tennis Center | Houston (Rice University)
Dates: March 23-25
Format: Tournament â€" Six Singles Flights, Three Doubles Flights
TOURNAMENT RECAP
The Cougars went 9-1 during the rain-shortened Rice Invitational, including a 7-0 record in singles matches. Tsveta Dimitrova won all three of her singles matches in Flight 3B, while Sveva Mazzari and Ana Glumac went 2-0 to advance to their respective flight finals, however each of their Sunday matches were cut short with the Cougars on top.
In doubles play for the weekend, the tandem of Dimitrova and Mazzari compiled a 2-1 record while advancing to the flight finals. The duo dropped the first game of their opening match against Mboko/Koke from Denver before rattling off six straight to win 6-1. The following day, Dimitrova and Mazzari needed an extra game to defeat Sisti/Kurtz from Tulane 6-2, before eventually falling in a hard-fought match 7-5 to Durkin/Ho of Rice in Saturday's finals.
SINGLES PLAY
Dimitrova was the only Cougar to get in a full match on Sunday before the rain came, but she did not disappoint against Christina Sisti from Tulane. Dimitrova dropped the first set 6-1 but came battling back to force a tie break in the second set which she won 7-6(4). In the final set Dimitrova rolled to a 6-3 victory to claim the Flight 3B Singles.
Dimitrova had to battle through a two-tiebreaker victory in her matchup on Friday against Joana Saava of Alabama. Coming from behind in each set, the Padardzhik, Bulgaria native eventually won 7-6(5), 7-6(4) to advance and meet Carla Cerdan of UT Arlington. Dimitrova breezed through the first set in her match against Cerdan winning 6-0 before dropping just one game in set two in a 6-1 victory.
Mazzari dropped the first set in Sunday's flight championship match against Louise Trigona but showed incredible resiliency coming back in the match. Set two went down to the wire, with Mazzari coming away victorious 7-5, and she had a 3-2 lead when the match was stopped.
Mazzari's opening match on Friday with Ema Barkovic from Sam Houston State also went three sets. The Sanremo, Italy, native dropped the first game 6-3 before storming back to win sets two and three 6-3 and 6-1 respectively. Mazzari opened her match with Kylee Kato from UTSA on Saturday with a 6-3 victory in set one before battling to a 6-4 win in the second set to clinch the win.
Glumac was on her way to a third straight victory in the flight finals on Sunday when her match was interrupted by the weather. After a battle in the first set, which Glumac won 7-6(3), she was fighting her way back in the second set trailing 3-1 when the match was halted.
After rolling to a 6-0, 6-1 victory in her first match as a Cougar on Friday, Glumac again cruised to a set one win, 6-1, against Kateryna Avram of Northwestern State on Saturday. Avram responded with a 6-0 win in set two, and in the third set the two traded games before Glumac eventually came away with the 7-5 set win to clinch the match.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The Cougars will be back in action in action Oct. 6-8 when they head north on Interstate 45 to compete in the SMU Invitational in Dallas, Texas.
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